Hidden Amongst the Stars
by The Auburn Girl
Summary: Baelfire wasn't the only one to go through the portal. His mother Belle fell with him. Consequently, Rumplestiltskin spends hundreds of years searching for them. What he finds isn't what he expects. Rumbelle AU with canon divergence. Will be about 6-8 chapters.
1. Prologue

**-Prologue-**

The forest was brimming with magic.

Rumplestiltskin clasped his wife's hand, his body on fire with adrenaline and his thoughts steeped in fear. Trudging through the Enchanted Forest at this hour was almost unheard of and was saved for the miscreants and thieves who operated in the dark, but _this_ night his family was on the move. They traveled swiftly, maneuvering their way around trees, over roots and other bramble.

Their son was in the lead and continued on until they were far from the village they called home. His name was Baelfire, and at the age of fourteen, he was already as brave as his mother and as resourceful as his father. The villagers teased him for his perseverance, though Belle—Rumplestiltskin's wife and True Love—often said their son's most valuable asset was his incorruptible heart.

He cursed himself for not fully understanding the implications of the deal he made with the boy. _'Papa… If I find a way for you to get rid of the power… A way that doesn't kill you or hurt Mama or me… Would you do it?'. _ He'd been flustered, distracted by Belle's gentle urging and her arms snaked around his neck. _'All I want is your happiness, Bae. If you find a way, I'll do it.' _ They'd struck a deal. A deal he was too terrified to keep.

At the time Rumplestiltskin had been certain there was no other way to rid the curse besides True Love's kiss and he'd learned rather quickly what would happen if he kissed Belle. His curse protected itself and in doing so, it inflicted excruciating pain on her when their lips touched. It had nearly killed her the first night he'd become the Dark One.

But he'd underestimated their boy's cleverness. A land without magic? Who'd ever heard of such a thing? It wasn't possible, was it...?

The deeper his family trekked into the forest, the more urgent Rumplestiltskin's breaths became. He wanted to dig his feet into the dirt, to stop their progress and demand their obedience, but Belle's hand was incessant in his. She tugged him, reminding him lowly of the promise he made to their boy. "You said you would not back out, Rumple." Her voice buzzed gently. "You struck a deal with him."

He ignored her, looking to their son. "Bae, where are you taking us? Why must we be so deep inside the forest?"

"This way, Papa," Baelfire called, waving the lantern (their only source of light) to catch their attention. The lantern swung, its rays casting long shadows around them. "We're almost there!"

"Where are we going, boy?" He sounded desperate. "What kind of world is this we're going to? What kind of world is without magic?"

Baelfire whirled to face them, amber eyes sparkling. "A better one!" He dug in his pocket and, holding it between his thumb and forefinger, showed them a glowing bean. Rumplestiltskin could sense the magic it exuded and recoiled, drawing Belle nearer to his chest.

"No!" He reached out trying to stop Baelfire from throwing the bean, then froze at the sight of it bouncing on the damp ground.

Once it settled, a swirling, green vortex expanded outward from it, swallowing the earth beneath. A whirring roar sounded and the wind increased, howling in their ears. "My gods, boy! It's like a tornado!" he bellowed, scrambling backwards with Belle on his arm.

Baelfire pointed at the portal. "We have to go through, Papa!" He rushed forward and grabbed his mother's free hand, towing her to the glowing edge.

"No, no! I don't think I can!"

"We must! It's the only way!"

"Rumple, we'll be together," Belle shouted, her blue eyes pleading. Grabbing his coat's sleeve, she pulled him closer. "We'll be able to kiss! There will be no curse—no magic to keep us apart!"

Rumplestiltskin shook his head frantically. "No, no, no, no, no, no! It's a trick! It'll tear us apart!"

"It's not! It'll be okay! I promise!" Baelfire shrieked. He looked imploring to his mother who took matters into her own hands. She fisted her hands in Rumplestiltskin's clothes and kissed him hard on the mouth. He shoved her away, terrified for her safety.

"You promised, Rumple!" she yelled. "Trust Bae! It'll be alright!"

Whatever Rumplestiltskin said was lost to the wind because the ground around the vortex collapsed, dragging Baelfire and Belle down with it. He fell with them and dug in his coat to pull out his dagger, then shoved it into the earth to keep them from being sucked in. "Papa! We have to go through! What are you doing? Papa! It won't stay open long! Let go!"

"Rumple, let go!" Belle shook the hand that was in his. "He's right! We have to go through!" Her eyes were fierce, her hair whipping around her face.

"I can't," Rumplestiltskin cried, voice broken, "I can't!"

"Papa, please! It's the only way we can all be together!"

"No, Bae! I can't!"

"Papa, please!" Baelfire sobbed. He held tight to his mother, one hand reaching out to finger in the loose earth. "Mama's going!"

"I can't!" Rumplestiltskin had never experienced the fear he was feeling as the Dark One but it was a familiar feeling to the crippled coward he'd once been. Heart pounding, he grasped more firmly to the hilt of his blade. "I can't!"

"You coward!" Baelfire screamed, voice cracking in anger. "You promised! Don't break our _deal_!" His small hand fought to fist the shifting ground.

Belle jostled their linked hands. "Rumple, _please_," she whispered, peering into his dilated eyes. He could hardly hear her over the roar of the portal but he read her lips. "I love you...please don't do this." She used every ounce of her strength to haul herself up and kiss his hand. "Don't break your deal."

He shouted "I have to!" and let her go.

When he released her, he saw her beautiful eyes widen in disbelief and heard his son scream "_PAPA!_" before the vortex disappeared, taking his family with them. They were gone. Silence ringed clear through the night.

Rumplestiltskin raised his head from the hilt of the dagger, looking around. "Bae! Belle!" he bellowed. There was no answer. "Bae! Belle? No, no, no, no, no. I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Bae." He relinquished his hold and slid into the pit left in the vortex's wake. Hands pawing at the dirt, he shouted, "I want to come with you, Bae! I want to come with you, Belle! I want to come with you! Bae! Belle! _Belle!_"

Rising jerkily to his feet, Rumplestiltskin spun in a circle, clawing at the loose earth. If he could dig, the portal might still be there... Yet with each swipe, each brush, nothing was revealed, and panic—no—_horror_ bloomed inside of him. "Belle! Bae!"

They were gone.

"No!" he howled. "Oh gods. No!"

His thoughts ran wild, like a pack of wolves on the hunt, and he immediately snarled. It was the Blue Fairy's fault—_her _fault he'd lost his family. Baelfire had said Reul Ghorm had given him the magic bean, so she'd planned this all along. She'd wanted to rid the world of the Dark One and his cruel power.

He climbed out of the pit, careful to unsheathe his dagger from the earth. His hands shook from his rage and the absolute dread he was feeling. "Reul Ghorm, show yourself!" he shouted into the night sky, voice echoing in the darkness. A shining blue light descended from the trees and as it came closer, the form of the Blue Fairy appeared. Her face was forlorn, etched with heartbreak. "How do I follow them?"

"You had the way, you didn't take it. And there are no more magic beans..."

"That's a lie."

"We don't do that."

"A _lie_!" he repeated with a growl, wanting to snatch out and tear the fairy wings off her back.

The Blue Fairy tried a different tactic, "You will never make it to that world."

"Oh," he seethed, on the verge of madness. "I'll find a way. There must be other paths. A realm jumper?"

"No."

"A time turner?"

"No."

"A mage?"

"No." She sounded exasperated. "There is no—"

A thought occurred to Rumplestiltskin, and he barked, "A curse?" Conflict played on the Blue Fairy's face and he knew he had her. A curse that would allow him to travel between worlds... Interesting. "Ah! So, it _is _a curse!"

She flustered, her cheeks going pink. "Of course you would think of a curse instead of a blessing. Your magic is limited by its own rotten _core_, Rumplestiltskin," she murmured. "Anyway, it can't be done. Not without a great price."

He felt like laughing at her; he'd just lost his _True Love_ and his _son_. There could be no greater price than that. "I've already paid a great price."

"So, you'd be willing to sacrifice this world for the next? Because that's how great the price is," she said quickly.

He giggled, "Well, what do _you _think?"

She studied him, floating up and down as her wings fluttered. "Well, then I'll comfort myself knowing that such a curse is beyond your abilities."

The corner of Rumplestiltskin's mouth turned up in a smirk. "Oh, for now... But I've got all the time in the world. I will do nothing else, I will love nothing else," he spat vehemently. "I will find a way. You took my wife and son, but I will get them back!"

"I didn't take your wife or son."

He pointed his finger at her and barely managed not to fling a curse in her face. It was _her _fault because she'd given Baelfire the bean. If he hadn't been in possession of it, he would not have led them into the forest. None of this would have happened. "You took them, but I will get them back!"

She leaned forward. "You _drove _them away."

Her words rang like poison in Rumplestiltskin's ears and, unable to bear the truth in them, he slashed at her with his dagger. She gasped, flying backward out of his reach before soaring into the night sky. "I will find them!" he screeched after her. "I will find them!"

In seconds, she was gone. The forest was quiet as if it had sensed the turmoil taking place within its borders and had stilled to watch. The only sound was the breeze blowing softly in his ears. "I will find them..." he whispered.

* * *

**A/N: So this is 1 of 6 parts (that's where I've outlined it). The 1st Chapter will go from the Seer and continue on till "Manhattan". I wanted to get this first part posted before I went off to college. This is for my tumblr Mamas 'Midstorm' and 'Joyfulserenade'. **


	2. The Seer

**-The Seer-**

Long ago Rumplestiltskin was a soldier in the Ogre War. In the beginning he was excited, for he was eager to shed his father's cowardly name, but as time passed and more and more wounded men were brought back from the battlefield to the training camps, he grew fearful. Soldiers told stories of horrors, of ogres that stood nearly twenty feet tall and of limbs ripped from screaming men. Rumors said there was no hope for success and the commander of the army had said so himself.

The low morale weakened Rumplestiltskin's resolve but he managed to keep his wits and persevere. He trained, slept, and trained some more, watching as soldiers went off to the battlefield.

Many of them never returned.

His resolve finally shattered when he was ordered to guard an important crate.

Inside the crate was a terribly deformed child with stitches where her eyes should have been. She claimed to be a Seer and chuckled at his disbelief, whispering his wife's name. He was enthralled; he was so stunned he gave her water when she asked for it.

The Seer rewarded his kindness by warning him of his future. She claimed his wife Arabelle was pregnant and would birth him a son, yet his actions on the battlefield in the coming days would leave his son fatherless. She warned him that he would lose his wife as well.

The next day he panicked.

While watching moaning men be carried in on stretchers, he made the rash decision to wound himself so he could return home. He broke and twisted his ankle with a massive hammer and was sent home in shame. A 'coward' they called him.

Rumplestiltskin didn't argue. He lived to return home and discover the truth in the Seer's words. Arabelle had birthed him a son while he was away, and she did not turn him away when she learned he deserted.

Everything was fine until Baelfire and the magic bean.

Now Rumplestiltskin was alone and the Seer's words rang true.

He had lost his wife and son.

He searched relentlessly for the Seer, for she of all people would know how he was going to get them back.

Weeks went by without word or sign of the woman, and the more time passed, the more Rumplestiltskin became frantic. He could not stand returning home to an empty household, knowing Belle and Baelfire were probably suffering and terrified in an unfamiliar land. He could not sleep at night, knowing his wife was not in his arms and his son was not in his bed down on the first floor.

Each day that passed he grew more desperate. He became volatile to any person who crossed him and unfortunate souls soon found themselves as snails under his boot.

It was not till news of the Seer's camp that he calmed, feeling like he finally had some grasp of control. His sources told him the Seer was camping out deep in the Enchanted Forest, up north far away from other inhabitants. They had discovered her there, living among the critters and the harsh elements.

Rumplestiltskin set off in search of her encampment without a second thought. It took him under an hour to converge on the clearing in the forest his scouts had specified. A campfire was burning high in the middle, a poor shelter off to the side, and the Seer was nowhere in sight.

Absently, he waved a hand over the fire and felt its warmth, thinking the blind woman could not have traveled far beyond its protection.

He was torn from the fire's licking flames when a high, wispy voice announced, "I have been expecting you," and the woman he was seeking stepped out from behind a copse of trees. She was much taller than before for she had matured, yet her stitched face and palmed eyes had not altered with time. Sewn rags fit her frame, covering her chest and arms before descending down past her feet. Her fiery hair was matted with leaves and caked with dirt.

"Then you know exactly why I came," he responded, waving a hand through the air and smiling. He had found his prey.

The Seer ambled forward, leaves crackling under her feet, and bunched her skirts in one hand while the other hand rose so she could see. She maneuvered around the fire's pit. "What I foretold during the Ogres War has finally come to pass," she murmured knowingly, unafraid.

Rumplestiltskin gave an evil grin. "Well, in a manner of speaking," he said, voice hinting at annoyance and laughter. He turned, slowly circling her unshaking frame. "Let's see... I, uh, hobbled myself on the battlefield. Was branded a 'coward'. My lovely wife—stayed by my side and nurtured me. Then my son was called to the front. Oh!" He whirled behind her and twirled his index figure. "Then I became the Dark One. Then Belle and Bae left me. So, yes. My actions on the battlefield left my son fatherless and me without a wife. But!" he snarled. "It would've been _nice _to know all that pesky detail!"

The Seer turned to survey him, though she could not see him. "Knowing," she said gravely, "would not have made a difference. You still would have been powerless to escape your fate."

Giggling, Rumplestiltskin smirked and took a few steps in front of her. "Just...like...you." His voice was high-pitched, hinting on a delighted squeal, and he twisted to strangle her with his magic. "Now..." His tone had dropped a couple of octaves so he sounded deadly. "You know exactly why I came here."

She choked, hands extended outward at her sides. "You want to find you wife and son," she wheezed, croaking.

"In_deed_!" he cried, releasing his hold.

The woman coughed, sucking in gulps of air before slowly straightening. In practiced rhythm, her hands trailed upward and whipped out, showing the eyes in her palms. "You will find them," she breathed.

Rumplestiltskin flipped his hands and pointed at her. "_How?_ And this time, don't leave out a single detail."

Her hands jerked to the side, eyes searching the future. "It will not be an easy path. It will take many years..." The hands danced in front of her chest, continuing their erratic movements. "And require a curse. A curse..." she repeated, hands rising in the air and beginning to shake, "powerful enough to rip everyone from this land!"

He watched as her hands fell and were cradled against her bosom. "Yes? Yes?" he barked. "There's more. I know it. Tell me."

The Seer complied, hands returning to their seeing. "_You _will not cast the curse... Someone else will. And _you _will not break the curse. Someone else wi—ll." Voice faltering, she dropped her hands and sucked in a deep breath.

"_Tell me_!"

"I...I don't know. Even _my _powers have limits."

Anger erupted inside of Rumplestiltskin and he raised his hand in front of his face. "Ah, ah, ah! Not good enough, dearie!" With a flick of his wrist, he was choking her again. The vicious urge to kill her rang in his dark heart but he held back; he needed her for a little while longer.

Gasping, she whispered, "If—if you want to see the path you must take...there is only one way. Take this burden from me." She held out her hands palm-up, enticing him to take them in his grasp.

Rumplestiltskin smiled, ticking his finger. "Gladly," he announced, slapping his hands down on hers, and almost flinching when the Seer let loose a wild scream. Yet his shock was immediately overrun as a rush off images flooded his mind.

Pictures of the future zipped by and became a blur in the whirlwind of information he was taking in. Everything was moving too fast for him to see clearly. He gazed dazedly around the clearing and thought he saw a white light emitting from their clasped hands. "I...can't...see...anything," he ground out. "It's too much. It's nothing but a jumble."

"The future is a puzzle with many pieces to be sorted. In time, you will learn to separate what can be, from what will be..." She cried out when Rumplestiltskin released his hold on her hands, letting her fall to the forest floor.

"This is why you wanted to give me your power! To free yourself from this torment," he snapped, enraged.

The Seer shook her head, her auburn hair rustling through leaves. She did not stand but remained rooted to the ground. "In time you will work it all out... Wait..." She called out to him just as he stepped back to leave. He froze, unmoving as she raised one of her hands. "As gratitude, I offer you one piece of the puzzle. You will be reunited with your wife and son, and it will come in a most unexpected way."

"_How_?" Rumplestiltskin demanded, taking a step forward.

She waved a hand through the air, raising it high above her head. "A boy..." she gasped. "A young boy will lead you to them. But beware, Rumplestiltskin, for that boy is more than he appears." He approached her pitiful form and looked down into her disgusting face. "He will lead you...to what you seek. But there will be a price. The boy...will be your wife's undoing."

Finally, the Seer's hand fell gracelessly over her chest and she died, leaving him alone with his rapid thoughts. A boy would lead him to his family and be Belle's undoing? That could only mean one thing.

Rumplestiltskin leaned down, bending over to take in her limp, lifeless form. "Then," he said simply, straightening. "I'll just have to kill him."

* * *

**A/N: So I was going to move on to the curse in Storybrooke and Manhattan, but I thought this would be a good way to end a short chapter. Don't worry, the rest of the chapters won't be this short. Please tell me what you think in a review? :)**


End file.
